REAL

Estate

Real Estate

Our team of recognized real estate attorneys provides a broad range of real estate services to clients across all industries. We assist clients with a full range of services covering every aspect of real estate transactions and all asset classes – commercial office buildings, retail shopping centers, other retail leasing, industrial developments and properties, and multi-family and residential properties. We have the depth of experience that you need in all of the below areas. You can follow us on our Real Estate Blog.

Commercial Leasing

We frequently represent landlords and tenants in drafting and negotiating commercial leases for office, retail, industrial, health care, data center, and other uses, including ground leases. We also handle all manner of landlord-tenant disputes, including lease terminations, unlawful detainer actions and rent collection.

Finance, Lending and Capital Formation

We represent private lenders, institutional lenders and borrowers on all aspects of real estate financings, land and development loans, bridge loans, construction loans, refinancing, loan restructuring and workouts. We also represent closely held companies, developers and investors with regard to capital raises, equity and debt financing, entity formation, joint venture agreements, and planning and financing of purchases or development projects.

Structuring and Tax Planning

Our attorneys counsel clients regarding the formal ownership of property, including formation of limited liability companies, general and limited partnerships, tenancy-in-common (TIC) agreements, corporations, and single purpose entities. We team with our tax attorneys to address federal, state and local tax issues for the acquisition and disposition of property, 1031 Exchanges, real estate excise tax (REET) impacts, tax audits, tax appeals and related matters.

Property Management

Development – Land Use – Environmental

We have represented developers, owners, lenders and insurance companies and have significant experience with a broad range of land use and planning issues facing any developer or owner, including permitting, zoning, compliance with environmental and other regulations, due diligence and feasibility analysis, and drafting and negotiating easements, covenants, boundaries, licenses and use-related agreements.

Real Estate Trade Organizations

We believe taking a personal interest in the real estate industry is as important to us as it is to you. Several of our attorneys are active members and regularly participate in many real estate trade organizations. These organizations include:

Representative Projects

Representative Transactions

We are general counsel for multiple Ports. We have represented them on several transactions, including the acquisition and development of real estate in multiple locations, and have been ongoing counsel regarding financing and local land use and zoning issues.

We have been the real estate counsel for a Washington property and investment company on several land acquisitions, development, facilities management, project leasing and commercial litigation issues including, commerce centers in Kent, Washington and Lacey, Washington and a distribution center in Sumner, Washington.

We represented a large Canadian pension fund in lease and construction contract negotiations with a tenant for the construction of a 165,000 square foot build-to-suit building at a Bellevue office complex, the sale of one of those buildings for $29 million, and we handle all other leasing, licensing and related contract work for the several buildings on that campus totaling 900,000 square feet. We also handle several other lease, property management and contract issues with regard to their other properties in downtown Seattle and Bellevue.

We are construction counsel for a large developer and its South Lake Union properties. We have also been involved in drafting and negotiating the development and construction documents for a project in Bothell, Washington.

We handled leases negotiations and construction contract negotiations for the rehabilitation of a historical building in downtown Seattle.

We represented a public hospital district in a complex and unique long-term lease of another hospital and its related medical facilities, as well as disposition of other assets.

We represented an established developer in the purchase and sale of a downtown office building and the disposition of their interest in a retail center. We also represent them on several leasing, loan, property management and related issues at the various office and retail properties in the Seattle area.

We represented a hospital and its owner’s representatives on several construction and development projects including an $85 million orthopedic center. We assisted in the contracting, drafting and negotiations for the construction of another $120 million health care center.

We provide counsel for a large shopping center owner and their various entities in connection with their retail leasing efforts.

We represent a Chicago-based REIT with respect to industrial and office leasing for their properties in Washington state.

We represented a real estate developer on a loan transaction regarding a 40-unit multi-family project in Seattle, and have also represented them on negotiations for a downtown Seattle ground lease for a hotel development.

We have represented a well-established real estate investment team in the acquisition of properties, as well as on several apartment financings and loan transactions in excess of $100 million dollars throughout the Seattle area and in several states nationwide.

We represented a west coast financial institute with respect to a long-term lease renewal of their corporate headquarters in a Class A downtown Seattle building for 140,000 square feet.

We are local counsel to a car rental agency and have represented them on the consolidation of their downtown Seattle operations, which involved lease negotiations for their primary Seattle retail location in a parking garage, and featured negotiations over a complex ground lease.

We represented a real estate brokerage firm in their lease negotiations and have represented them and their brokers on various leases, project management and contract negotiation issues.

We represent a San Diego-based REIT with respect to projects in connection with their shopping centers.

We represent several restaurants, salon, retail stores and other business services in connection their lease negotiations in existing or new locations.

Representative Litigation

We serve as litigation counsel for multiple shopping center owners in several locations in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

We represented a large-scale Port district in litigation regarding condemnation and lease issues, as well as adverse possession issues relating to the purchase of a main transportation corridor. We have also advised a Port on various leasehold excise tax issues impacting the Port and its tenants.

We represent several property managers on tenant and real estate litigation matters at several properties throughout the greater Seattle area.

We have represented an energy company in multiple property tax assessment and refund suits, covering a period of more than ten years, related to a gas-fired, 620 megawatt electric power generating plant in Washington. The litigation involved multiple appeals and two trips through the appellate courts before a comprehensive settlement was achieved through mediation. We also represented them in a dispute and litigation over the application of the Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) to its original purchase of the power plant property from another energy company.

The Carney real estate litigation team has represented developers, owners, lenders, investors, tenants and individual property owners in hundreds of varied types of litigation over the past 25 years regarding at least the following topics: easements, leases, development agreements, purchase agreements, trespass, timber trespass, landslides, avalanches, boundary lines, partitions, title disputes, adverse possession, environmental contamination, property damage, condemnation, land use appeals, receiverships, foreclosures and workouts. Our litigation experience in real estate is broad, and we can help you with most any type of real estate related issue you might have.